


Discovering

by Wendi



Series: Sanctuary [4]
Category: DCU Animated, Smallville
Genre: Alternate Timeline, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-06
Updated: 2009-12-06
Packaged: 2017-10-04 05:13:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wendi/pseuds/Wendi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 4 of the <i>Sanctuary</i> series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Discovering

Chloe sandwiched the phone between her ear and shoulder, typing 'speedster rescues' into the search engine box. "They're shareholders in LeXcorp, Lana. There's no way Lionel can come in and touch that plant until Lex has been legally declared dead." She nibbled her lower lip and scrolled through the pages of hits, then stopping with wide eyes on a find. "Bingo." Covering quickly she offered Lana some consolation. "Just get through your shift and we'll talk about it tonight over a pint of Ben &amp; Jerry's, okay?" She waited on the page to load, wrapping up the coversation and turning off the phone as she delved into the article.

 

"Flash Freezes Crime Spree- Captain Cold Behind Bars" Chloe scanned the article, brows furrowing as she looked for clues. Her lips quirked into a smile as she murmured aloud. "The Sultan of Speed was unavailable for comment following the arrest, but police Chief Hotchkiss credits The Flash with once again bringing crime to a halt in Central City." Now that was interesting. Central City had a mysterious, costumed hero who didn't want the spotlight, and was apparently a speedster just like Wally. Chloe glanced up at the byline, her brows curving up into twin, arched peaks. "Iris West?"

 

Wally was definitely going to have some explaining to do.

 

**

 

They were halfway through their hamburgers and well on the way towards his sundae of seduction before Chloe dropped the bombshell that sent hopeful first date on a rapid detour.

 

"You never told me your aunt was a reporter."

 

Wally glanced up, swallowing a half-chewed mouthful of beef and toppings. "And when would I have worked that into conversation, exactly?" He swiped a napkin across his mouth and watched her delicately slide a pickle free from its bread and beef prison.

 

"Don't dodge the point," she warned with a quirked brow.

 

"I'm not!" Wally struggled not to squirm under scrutiny, but wound up shifting around on the squeaky booth cushion anyway. "What do you want to know? She's a reporter," he said, intending to dismiss the subject casually but unable to keep from bragging just a little on his favorite person in the world. "She used to be the lead reporter in the crime beat section of the Central City Times, but now she mostly writes editorials and features, part-time."

 

Chloe nibbled the rind from the pickle, drawing Wally's attention to her mouth enough to thoroughly distract him from her pointed questions. "So did she make a career out of following The Flash?"

 

"The Flash?" He met her eyes again, brows slipping up in surprise. "You know about The Flash?"

 

"Yeah, I've read thirteen articles, at last count." Chloe flashed a wicked grin making it a point to add, "All written by your aunt." Wally watched, helpless when her eyes crinkled with a grin. "He's a busy guy and she definitely comes across as a big fan."

 

"Uh, yeah." Shifting a glance down to his burger, Wally contemplated saying anything else. As usual, his brain and mouth failed to communicate. "They go way back. She spent years chasing the fastest guy on earth for a story."

 

"Didn't your uncle get jealous?"

 

Wally choked and shook his head as he dared another glance up. She either knew or was poking buttons to see how close her guesses were. Sucking down half his soda, he rattled the ice in the cup and looked around for a distraction, any distraction. He only found curious green eyes, waiting on his answer. "No, I mean, Uncle Barry's not the jealous type." And he wasn't. Uncle Barry was probably as easy going as a tightly wound speedster could get, not that he would be sharing _that_ anytime soon. Just because he'd exposed himself didn't mean he was going to out his favorite hero. "He knows she's crazy about him."

 

"Really? Where did they meet?"

 

She was blinking a lot. Either to distract him, because her lashes were pretty, or because she was zeroing in for the kill. Wally steeled himself against a wave of feminine wiles, whatever those were. "Through work. He's a scientist for the Central City Police Department, she's a crime beat reporter. Their paths crossed a lot." Ha! Take that, intrepid girl reporter with a nose for secrets.

 

"Mm, I'll bet." Chloe plucked up one of her fries, swirling them through a dollop of mustard as she shared a mysterious grin with him.

 

"That's disgusting."

 

"What?"

 

"Eating fries with mustard." Wally reached over, suddenly craving a taste of the oddity. He blinked when a hand moved almost as quick as his, smacking the back of his fingers.

 

"Excuse your egregious lack of manners." Chloe quirked a brow as she slowly folded the fry into her mouth.

 

Wally made a mental note to check the definition of egregious later that night, and to never, ever equate fries as phallic symbols, again.

 

**

 

Chloe resigned herself to the fact that actually seeing Wally move was impossible. That only took three passes on Route 53 and profuse apologies by Wally, followed by attempts to move slower and slower until it looked more wearing on him than the high speeds he maintained. Seeing him move might be unlikely, but Chloe was pleased to discover that she could watch the path he cut through the leafy corn stalks, by climbing to the top of the old barn on the back side of Reilly Field.

 

"You're sure it's safe up there?" Wally stopped on his fifth pass, shading his eyes to peer up at her.

 

"I'm fine," she called down, urging him on with a wave of the stopwatch. "Caught up on my tetanus shots and everything. Let me know when you're warmed up."

 

Wally flung his arms out, grinning broadly. "I'm on fire."

 

Chloe grinned and opened her notebook, cradling it against her pulled up legs. She peeked over the edge of the roof, blinking back memories of falling from the window of the mansion. Bad memory with absolutely nothing rooted in the bright sunshine of a late afternoon in May. "How exactly am I supposed to know you've been to Oregon?"

 

"Cheesy souvenir?" Wally shrugged. "You know, you could actually try taking my word for it."

 

"Riiight." Chloe jotted down weather conditions and took another peek to reaffirm that he was dressed like something that fumbled out of a Docker's laundry room. "You won't even be straight with me about your aunt's relationship to The Flash, and I'm supposed to trust that you're actually running to the Pacific Northwest while I'm sitting here in Reilly Field, watching the clock."

 

"Is this emotional blackmail?"

 

Chloe peeked down again, a grin spreading when she saw the wary look, complete with hands resting on narrow hips. When he decided her silence was an actual response and turned around in a huff, Chloe bit her lip and leaned out a little more to take in the view from the back. Slim hips, totally squeezable butt. Everything about Wally West had become a sudden aphrodisiac. There was something incredibly sexy about him in his sweat heavy t-shirt and scuffed sneakers. She wondered what he would do if she pushed his shirt up and skimmed her nails over his flat belly.

 

"Careful. I'm not really sure about the physics of catching a falling girl from two stories up."

 

Chloe blushed, biting back a dark giggle as she pulled back from the edge of the roof. "Ready, set, GO!"

 

**

 

Wally rummaged through the fridge, muttering to himself. "Come on, come on. All I want is a soda that's not _diet_."

 

"Then you should check the bottom drawer." Wally turned at the unfamiliar, curious voice. "That's where Chloe keeps her soda stash." Pretty. Dark hair and nice eyes even if they were staring at him like he'd just grown a set of horns and forked tail. The lips were set a little too prim for his taste, but there was no mistaking this babe was a looker.

 

"That's, uh--kind of a weird place for soda," he finally managed, kicking himself for that great opener. He extended a hand, offering her a smile. "Wally West. I'm a friend of Chloe's."

 

"Lana Lang." She took his hand, shaking it warmly as the prim melted away into an honestly warm and curious smile. "You're the guy from online."

 

Wally practically felt the stamp embedding on his brow. L-O-S-E-R. "One and the same." He pointed a finger at her. "And you're the roommate."

 

Lana nodded, her smile growing warmer by the moment. "It's nice to finally meet you. Chloe's said a lot about you."

 

"And if I'm lucky, most of it's been good stuff." Turning back to the fridge, Wally knelt down and pulled open one of the lower drawers. "Get you anything while I'm down here?"

 

"I'm fine, thanks." Lana slid her hands into her back pockets, watching him snag a bag of chips under one arm before leading the way to the stairs. "So you two have been hanging out a lot lately."

 

"Actually, we've been hanging around a lot for a while." Wally grinned, sizing her up as a credible threat only if a guy didn't have the balls to go for a girl more full of life, yet. "Only lucky me, now it's face to face."

 

"Sounds promising," she teased. Wally wondered if she tended everything with the same gentle fear of genuine contact.

 

"Hey, a guy like me can only hope." He flashed her a smile, stopping at the top of the stairs. "Nice meeting you." He nodded his head towards Chloe's door. "Gotta get back to work. She's in full research mode."

 

"Actually," Lana hesitated, then smiled. "She's probably doing most of that research for me." Gesturing at the closed door she asked, "Do you mind?"

 

_Yes. She's mine for maybe three hours a day, a few times a week. Go away. Listen to Jewel and brush your hair and miss your dumb cluck boyfriend who ditched you and ran away to Metropolis._ Wally forced a smile, because chivalry was part of the job, Uncle Barry always said. "Nah, have at it."

 

Shouldering in past her, Wally tried not to be obvious when Chloe turned and exchanged a tense glance with Lana.

 

"Lana, hi." Chloe turned back to the computer and Wally watched, enthralled, as she puffed a wisp of bangs from her eyes. God, he loved that. It was addictive. Sometimes, he moved his hand just fast enough to stir her hair so she'd have to do it again. Snapping out of it, he handed over her soda and stepped out of the way when Chloe waved Lana over. "_If_ Clark's still in Metropolis, he's pretty well hidden. I checked all the papers online--crime and accident reports. No John Does matching his description at the city or county morgues." Chloe reeled through her finds, blithely ignoring the way Lana looked like she might faint, for a few seconds. Okay, so Lana obviously hadn't thought things through to that end. Chloe finished her list, snapping her fingers when she remembered one last detail. "Oh, and there's been no activity on any of his parents accounts, aside from farm expenses."

 

"How did you--?" Lana started.

 

"A friend of mine's pretty good with computers." Wally knew that saying anymore would risk the fury of Barbara Gordon, and the last time they met in chat she had been going on and on about martial arts training. Wally had watched _Charlie's Angels_ enough to know better than to piss off a woman who kicks high. "I know my way around the online playground." In his mind he sounded a lot cooler than either of the girls seemed to notice.

 

Lana exhaled a pent up breath, sinking down to sit on the edge of Chloe's bed as she rubbed her palms against her legs. "Okay. So we know nothing's happened to him, at least." She looked up, eyes brimming with an entirely different concern. "Any news on Lex's plane crash?"

 

Chloe turned around, quickly restoring web sites with a series of rapid clicks. "Depends on what you consider news." Wally watched her head tilt as she read over the headlines. "New wreckage found, divers are going back down in the same five mile radius tomorrow morning. FFA officials are hoping to find the infamous black box, no bodies have been recovered from the scene, but apparently one of Helen's bags washed ashore on an island yesterday."

 

"An island?" Lana's spirits seemed to rise as hope flared in her eyes and her shoulders straightened. "If there's an island nearby then maybe Lex--"

 

"That island was fifty miles away, Lana." Chloe turned in her chair, her voice laced with dread. "I don't think Lex or Helen would have made it that far, _if_ they survived the crash to begin with, and judging from the mangled wreckage. . ."

 

"Snowball's chance in Jamaica of _that_," Wally filled in, crunching a chip in sympathy. Poor unlucky bastards. There were sharks in those tropic waters. He shuddered and dug in the bag for another handful of distraction. "His dad's still looking, though. That's a good sign."

 

Chloe and Lana exchanged a look before Chloe smiled and agreed. "Lex isn't the sole Luthor heir but after the stunts Lucas pulled, I still think he's the preferred one."

 

"Dead or alive," Lana agreed, then ducked her head to hide her emotions behind a fall of dark hair. Wally quirked a brow at Chloe over her head, biting his tongue to keep from saying something flippant. Obviously Lana liked her tragedies full of high drama, and who was he to poke a homecoming queen's psyche? "I'm just worried about The Talon."

 

The Talon? Could be a possible resident super hero. Wally's ears perked up as he swallowed a mouthful of chips. "Who's The Talon?"

 

Chloe's lips twitched in an effort to hold back a smile. "Not who, what. It's the coffee house that Lex owns and Lana manages."

 

"You manage a coffee house?" Wally blinked in surprise. "What, Walmart wasn't hiring?"

 

Lana laughed and exchanged a look with Chloe, nodding along. "Something like that. It just has sentimental meaning."

 

Chloe's discreet eye roll led Wally to believe that most things had sentimental meaning with Lana Lang. Still, she offered reassurances to her friend. "Let's just take it one step at a time, okay? Right now, Lionel's primary concern is LeXcorp."

 

LeXcorp, Luthorcorp, The Talon. Wally wondered if anyone really farmed around here. Sure there were fields and tractors and cows, but so far Wally hadn't met anyone who tilled anything besides the Nasdaq, the want ads or the Internet.

 

Lana nodded, seeming to accept Chloe's wisdom that stated dismantling corporate rival trumps closing down caffeine filling station on the to do list of billionaires. "Do you think we'll be able to find Clark?"

 

Chloe took a calming breath and brushed her hair back behind one ear. Wally's fingers itched to muss it again and rattled in protest inside the bag. "That's actually something we need to discuss, Lana."

 

Wally stood up, chips nearly falling off his lap in his haste to vacate the general vicinity of what his pre-Flash sensors were telling him was an incoming girl spat, with gale force winds. "I want a candy bar, does anybody else want one while I'm downstairs?"

 

Lana glanced over, unnerved by his sudden outburst. "I'm…fine, thanks."

 

"Bring me a Snickers?" Chloe flashed him a brief smile of thanks as he let himself out of the room.

 

It really wasn't his fault that he was fast enough to go down, get the candy bars and return to his post outside the door before they got started. And listening was kind of hard to avoid with the door cracked, he reasoned. Sinking down to sit against the wall, he peeled his wrapper and winced as their voices rose sharper and louder.

 

". . .not my priority to play hide and seek with _your_ boyfriend."

 

"I thought Clark was your friend."

 

"A lot of things have changed between the two of us, just like they changed between the two of you."

 

"Chloe, if this is some kind of jealous reaction--"

 

"Could you just spare me the drama before it starts, Lana?" Hmm. Wally was trying to keep his experience with the knowledge far from first hand, but it sounded like Chloe was losing her temper. "I've had plenty of jealous reactions in the past six months that neither one of you seemed to care about. I've closed that chapter of the book. Clark made his choice and I made mine, and it doesn't involve chasing him around Kansas, anymore."

 

"Chloe, you didn't see him the day he left. There was something wrong with him. He wasn't acting like himself."

 

"Which self, Lana? There are at _least_ a dozen catalogued selves that Clark Kent presents to the world around him. He wears a different face for you, for me, for Pete or Lex." Whoa, for Lex? That sounded interesting, Wally mused, biting off another chunk of his Mars bar. "Clark walked out on his parents when they needed him the most. He left you behind when you two were finally together. Why do you want to find a guy who would do that to the people he says he loves?"

 

"Because no matter what he's going through right now, Clark is still my friend."

 

Wally's brows slipped up at the flat accusation implied in the tone. He stopped chewing, waiting on the fiery rebuttal--that never came.

 

"Okay, okay." A long breath, then a strained admission. "So maybe I am still worried about him. But the simple fact of the matter is, there's not much more that I can do, Lana. I know that everyone thinks I'm this endless font of information, but I have the same basic tools as anyone else. The Internet and insatiable curiosity." Wally could hear the regret in her voice. "I'm just nosey. I'm not the hero. If I were, I would've brought Clark back already and Lex's plane never would've left the airport."

 

Flicking his thumb over the edge of the candy wrapper, Wally silently agreed with her. Sometimes the hardest thing was admitting that there was nothing you could do.

 

"I'm sorry," Lana murmured and Wally could hear the rustle of clothes that was probably girl-hugging going on. He craned around the edge of the doorway for a quick peek, ducking back before they could notice his subtle leer. "I guess I just got carried away. It's been. . .really stressful these past few days. I've been trying to help out at the farm, since Mrs. Kent came home from the hospital."

 

Wally drew his knees up, listening to the girls talk in hushed voices about a miscarriage and broken family. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine his mom and dad going through something like that, while he walked away from it. Hearing a stir in the room, he quickly zipped down the stairs, starting back up them in time to see Lana step out into the hallway. He waved Chloe's candy bar at her and waited for her to slip into her room, before he ducked back into Chloe's. "All clear?"

 

"About as clear as a mud puddle." Chloe turned her desk chair in a lazy circle, tucking her hair back behind her ears as she tried to wind down from the confrontation. "It had to be said. I'm writing this column for the Planet, working on my own investigation of the meteor rocks, and trying to spend some free time with you."

 

Wally dropped down on the side of the bed, pulling a one-eared teddy bear into his lap to squish and tug. "I make your priorities list?" He glanced up through his brows, smiling slyly. "Cool."

 

Chloe rolled the chair closer to the bed, taking the bear from him before it suffered any further mauling. "This is Digger."

 

"How's it going, Digger?" Wally gave the bear a half-hearted wave, cocking his head when his glance strayed to Chloe. "I'm worthy of an official introduction, now?"

 

"Well, I couldn't exactly have you laying hands on the sacred bear without a proper introduction," Chloe teased, her knees brushing Wally's when she leaned past his shoulder to put the bear back in his nest among scattered throw cushions.

 

Wally silently chided his hand for slipping over one smooth leg as his shorts painfully tightened. "I feel honored and newly freed to molest Digger anytime I'm over here."

 

Flashing him a crooked smile, Chloe slipped her hand over the back of his, pulling him with her as she wheeled the chair back across the floor to her desk. "Come here."

 

There was no physical way to deny the soft request. Was that intentionally sexy? That had to be intentionally sexy, because it went straight to his crotch. Standing up was suddenly an issue, but there was no such thing as saying no to Chloe Sullivan. So it was written. . .somewhere. Wally shuffled over then found himself nudged down into the chair when she vacated it.

 

Enveloped by the scent of Caress and coffee, Wally's eyes strayed to take in Chloe's profile as she leaned over his shoulder and maneuvered her mouse through several files. God, that shouldn't be so hot. Chloe's breasts pressed against his shoulder blade, okay. Yes, that was a given, normal kind of hot. But admiring the way her cursor darted across the screen was nothing but certified geek-kink. If he turned his head just a little, Wally was pretty sure he could steal a kiss from the underside of her jaw. His eyes followed the line of it, slipping down over freckles and the fine line of bone. He was just getting to her lips, when she turned and caught him staring.

 

"That. . .is crush boy, aka Clark Jerome Kent, currently missing in action and presumed 'not himself'." Her lips quirked in a wry smirk before she turned her attention back to the screen where click after click revealed pictures of the two of them dancing in formal wear.

 

Wally finally understood the mournful splat of a water balloon dropped from two stories up, as he looked at the pictures. The face was as familiar as the name had been and after a brief, fond flash back to the field where they'd met one exhilarating afternoon, he decided he could go back to hating him very easily. "Looks like a real catch." Aunt Iris would've winced and given him a look for that flat tone, but it was the best he could manage with the competition thrown up in his face in his hour of hope.

 

Chloe exhaled a short sigh. "That's what I used to think." Wally watched as she deliberately deleted each jpg, one after another, until the folder was empty. Blinking at another sudden shift in the tide, Wally looked up at her, his breath catching when she lifted a leg and straddled his lap, arms linking loosely around his shoulders. "Then I woke up to this amazing--" she paused, her short nails grazing lazily through his hair as she grinned and chose the word carefully. "Reality."

 

If he was asleep. . .no. Chloe's skin never felt this warm when his hands slipped around her waist in his dreams. If she was jerking him around. . . no. There was definitely intent in the way she leaned in, breasts so full and hot against his chest. Her lips parted, thumbs slipping down over his cheeks and Wally shivered under her touch as his hands slipped up the warm line of her spine, then back down over the curve of her ass. Oh jesus. Chloe Sullivan was sitting on his lap, in his hands, waiting on him to kiss her. He swallowed, inhaling her soft scent when he parted his lips and tried to steady his voice. "Amazing, huh?"

 

Chloe nodded, flicking the pink tip of her tongue over his lower lip. His chased after it, wanting to taste it, groaning when he slid into the dark heat of her mouth. Strawberries and coffee, she was instantly addictive and with a startling burst of speed he hauled her in closer, hands squeezing as he took long, hungry tastes. He thought he could fill himself up, like gorging on candy that would keep him pleasantly buzzing for a while afterwards, but Wally was discovering there was no fill point with Chloe. She matched him kiss for kiss, sucking, biting, licking the edge of his teeth like she didn't want him holding back anything. Ever. Wally tried to breathe when their mouths parted, blood rushing under his skin with the same jarring heat that lightning had left in its wake a few years ago. "Amazing?" he managed to finally repeat, lashes fanning open to watch her face.

 

Cheeks flushed and lips kiss swollen, she was the most incredible thing Wally had ever seen. "Totally amazing." Her voice shook and she nodded, sneaking another hungry taste when he parted his lips to exhale the breath she had shaken out of him.

 

He was in trouble. Oh god, so much trouble. True to his nature, Wally grinned, brash and full of the moment. "Stick around. You ain't seen nothing, yet."


End file.
